A group of Georgia high school seniors were honored in March full four-year scholarships to North Georgia College and State University at a ceremony the school’s Dahlonega campus.

Guard officials, those with the college and the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), which administers the scholarships. On hand to help make the presentations were Gov. Sunny Perdue and the state legislatures who nominated each of the 39 students.

This is the 23rd year the North Georgia Scholarship has been given. At least 550 students, so far, have benefited from the program. This year’s recipients were chosen from more than 60 applicants. Total cash value of the awards exceeds $7.5 million.

To be eligible for a scholarship, each student had to be nominated by a member of Georgia’s General Assembly. The nominees had to have a high school grade point average of at least 3.0 and a SAT score of more than 1000 points.